Friday, May 22, 2009

Personal memories of Samos 2004. A collage of photos taken on Samos in 2004 with my first digital camera, a 4-Megapixel Canon IXUS 430. Looking back, a small but very good digital camera for a start! A solid metal housing, after all these years almost no scratches on the surface! Built for eternity? And lovely small jpg-files on the hard disc of the computer. Nowadays I'm used to 15 MB files for one RAW photo of my Nikon D700.

But, nowadays, who would buy a 4 Megapixel camera? The 4 megapixel photos are still much more than is needed for HD (1280 x 720 pixel). O.k., if you want to zoom in to some extent, you might need 6 Megapixel photos. On the other hand, the video mode with 320x240 Pixels and 15 fps was pretty limited then, nowadays this is much better with HD becoming a standard rapidly!

This was a unique feeling then, because it was my first time on Samos during the month of May. There I was, middle of May and I was fascinated by the green and blossoming environment and by taking my first really colourful photos with the new digital camera.

I'm preparing a presentation with many of those 2004 photos, but this will take a couple more rainy days in Germany. ;-)

Friday, May 15, 2009

Kallithéa is a small village in the west of Samos, settled on the slopes of mount Kerkis at an altitude of approx. 300 meters. Most tourists will pass by on the road to Agios Isidoros/Valsamos beach or Drakei, unfortunately without paying a visit to this place. The name Kallithéa means: "beautiful view". And indeed you will have a spectacular view across the aegean sea to the island of Ikaria. And along the road several benches are inviting you to sit down and enjoy the breathtaking sunsets.

If you want, explore the beautiful areas above and below Kallithéa: starting in front of the graveyard, follow the dirt road up the mountain, pass the chapel Ag. Paraskevi under big platane trees. Follow the dirt road till the end, then walk up the steep trail through shady forests to the lovely chapel "Panagia Makrini" inside a cave. I promise, this will be a unique experience during your stay on Samos! Or, starting a little bit outside the village to the south, follow the dirt road that will lead you down to the sea, visit Charalampos chapel and relax on Katsouni beach.

I hav been there already several times. Last year I spent some time there in August and October and took a couple of photos. During the day, the small square and the narrow streets look empty, almost deserted. For sure, only tourists will walk around in the heat of the early afternoon!And cats are strolling around. Old men are sitting in the shade of huge trees in front of the one and only tavern in the small square.

But during that one hot night in the middle of August, the whole place is more than crowded with hundreds of people who come from all over the world back to Kallithea in summer to celebrate and enjoy the panijiri. The whole square is packed with tables and chairs where people sit, drink and eat, A group of 4-5 musicians plays live music and people start to dance from about midnight as long as they can until the light of the morning dawns.

Wanna take part (visually) in that hot night in the square of Kallithea? At least, for a couple of seconds, you can do that on the internet:

About Me

What's this blog all about?

Hello, welcome to my blog!

This website is about the greek island of Samos in the east aegean sea. It contains lots of my photos and some videos & music. Together with my personal impressions of people, landscapes and events I encountered on Samos.

Use of content of my blog (text, photos, videos, audio) only with prior written permission! Please don't misuse my photos and videos by removing copyright hints (even if you are affected by the greek crisis!)

You can buy my photos. This will help me to stay longer on the island! :-)